Visiting a Family Dentist Office Can Improve Your Breath

A family dentist can help to treat all of your oral health problems, including bad breath.  In our office, it normal for patients to ask how to keep their breath smelling fresh.  Since bad breath can hurt your social interactions, it is no wonder that people care about it.  Some of our advice is quite standard including flossing every day and brushing after meals.  We do, however, suggest that you also use a tongue scraper at night in order to remove the bacteria and food particles that may have gathered there. If you follow this up with an antiseptic mouthwash, your breath should start to improve.  Simultaneously, you should drink more water in order to keep your mouth moist and breath fresh.  If you find that this doesn’t help, and you have been avoiding garlic cloves, you may have an actual health condition that requires attention.

Stinky breath can be the body’s way of warning you that there is a problem.  With that in mind, if your breath is smelling worse than normal or stinks after brushing, call to schedule a dental exam.  During your exam, we will look for common signs of bad breath including gum disease, tooth decay, and infection.  All of these tend to manifest in other ways as well, so it is important to know what the symptoms are in order to detect and treat the condition early.

Here’s what you should know –

• Gum disease.  This can cause bad breath in addition to other health issues.  The condition is typically caused by plaque becoming stuck underneath the gum tissue.  Without regular teeth cleanings, this is a common problem.  Some of the early signs of it are red and swollen gums or gums that bleed when brushing.  When we catch the condition early, we can typically correct it by removing the irritating plaque so that the gums can rejuvenate.  When gum disease grows, it can cause the gums to recede which can be problematic.  Receding gums create pockets in the gum tissue where bacteria tend to gather.  Bacteria, in turn, can create acid that attacks the tooth structure leading to bone loss and eventual tooth loss.  In this way, visiting our family dentist at the first sign of gum disease can prevent tooth loss down the road.
• Infections. If your tooth is infected, it can produce a foul-smelling odor, a main reason for scheduling a dental exam for bad breath.  An infected tooth may also feel sensitive.  Even if it doesn’t hurt, it could still be infected, and if you experience discomfort while eating or biting down, you should definitely call our office.  We will treat the tooth by removing the infection before sealing it up and using a dental crown as necessary to protect it.  With the infection gone, your breath can start smelling normal again.
• Teeth cleaning.  If you don’t floss or brush properly, your breath may start to smell stale and stinky.  Regularly scheduled teeth cleanings can help to prevent this and at our family dentist office, we recommend coming in twice a year in order to do so.